Category: Movie Reviews

Life Partners (2014)

Staring: Leighton Meester, as Sasha, and Gillian Jacobs as Page, with supporting roles by Adam Brody, as Tim (the boyfriend), Gabourey Sidibe as Jen (aka one ‘N’ Jen) and Beth Dover as Jenn (aka two ‘Ns” Jenn). Released in April of 2014, the film was directed by Susanna Fogel & co-written with producer Joni Lefkowitz.

Life Partners, a truly honest-to-goodness down to earth film, tells the story of two close and infinitely linked best friends, Sasha & Page; late twenty-somethings in need of a bit of cognitive and spiritual growth. As the two pursue relationships and proper adulthood behavior, their un-linkable bond tethers at the seams when Page enters into a serious relationship. Through out the film, the two equally are sort of forced to face eye-opening life style changes, which prove to be developmentally difficult.

Page—needed to stop being taken care of all the time and getting her own way, and Sasha needed to move her life forward not only with her love life, but her career as well while adjusting to Page having a boyfriend.

The main reason I enjoyed this film was because it does such a great job of incorporating a strong, friendship bond between Meester’s character, Sasha, and Jacobs’ character, Page even when the pair were at odds with one another. The best instance in this case is after Sasha begins to date Vanessa—the former ex of one of the girls’ friends Jenn (aka two ‘Ns’). Following an awkward, double date at a bowling ally, Page and Sasha go for a hike and ‘discuss’ Sasha and Vanessa. What I really enjoyed about this scene was Sasha and Page’s reactions to one another when they realized the other was lying about how they truly felt in regards to Vanessa. Instead of coming clean, both continue to layer the conversation with subtext as neither wants to let the other out lie the other, regardless if both of them know that the other isn’t being honest.

(Photo Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures).

Yes, Page gets into a serious relationship with a guy she originally thought wouldn’t be her type and yes, we see Sasha go from one lesbian relationship to the other, but that relationship isn’t what grounds the story or film. The core of Life Partners, is Page and Sasha working on away to find a new balance with one another with Page’s new boyfriend. In my opinion, one of the best things this story and film succeeds at is avoiding some the stereotypical clichés of this kind of, three is a crowd/third wheel/love triangle relationship, like: the jerky boyfriend, an overtly, whinny/emotional girlfriend, the dominating boyfriend, and the three second love at first sight trope with Page and Tim’s relationship.